Why and how NPP can solidly break the 8

Ghana politics is so grounded in myths that many a Ghanaian believes that the NPP’s resolute determination to break the 8 is highly impossible. They think entrenched traditions, beliefs and decades-old set of orders are not easily broken, if not impossible to break.

By this Ghanaian belief, many a doubting Ghanaian Thomas thinks the NPP are tickling themselves and laughing when they say they are going to break the 8-yearly cyclical rotation of power between the NPP and NDC come election 2024.

The NPP can break the 8 based on the simple policy analysis I am about to make coupled with hard work devoid of complacency, apathy but inclusivity and strategization.

Ghanaians had witnessed what the NDC presidential candidate for election 2024 was able to do both as vice president and president of Ghana, humorously thus, “the driver’s mate and the driver”.

He was alleged to have personally got his hands soiled in various acts of corruption and malfeasances right from the purchase of the Brazil Embraer aircraft for the Ghana military through the Airbus saga to an attempt to cede 75% of the Nyinahini bauxite deposit to his younger brother without parliamentary approval at time that he had lost general election and had a week to exit power.

He threw the country into a nationwide power outage, popularly nicknamed in the local parlance as “dumsor” for four continuous years, destroying many small scale and hospitality industries.

A driver’s mate has limited powers over the control of the steering wheel or the car. It is the driver behind the wheel that has absolute control over the vehicle (car, bus, truck) when it is in motion or stationary, right?

Therefore, Dr Bawumia, although currently a driver’s mate, can’t be totally blamed for any acts of negligence or failures committed by his master the driver, if any, must be given the chance to become the driver before we can make a fair comparison or judgment between him and Mr John Dramani Mahama.

Even as vice president, Dr Bawumia’s positive achievements stand taller than the combined achievements of former President John Dramani Mahama throughout his entire political career, right from being assemblyman to member of parliament, deputy minister, minister, vice president to president.

Both Dr Bawumia and Mr John Mahama are of northern Ghana extraction. Therefore, the northerners’ votes that normally went to Mr John Dramani Mahama, for the fact of being their kin, will in the election 2024 be shared between him and Dr Bawumia, also a humble and honest northerner.

Mr Mahama used to campaign on a tribal note, openly shamelessly requesting the northerners to vote en masse for him because he is of their tribe. They, in their majority, honoured his request.

Now, he cannot make any such public tribal appeal or statement to the northerners anymore why because Dr Bawumia is also a northerner.

The NDC manifesto for election 2024 is a recycled 2012 and 2016 manifestos. There is nothing new. He could not implement then policies and programmes hence bringing them up in election 2024.

Mr Mahama and his NDC leadership have a problem explaining their 24-hour economy initially deemed a novelty. They can also not convincingly explain how they will fight illegal small scale and alluvial mining using the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as they have promised.

Lest I forget, no president or prime minister the world over, can create a 24-hour economy. It is never created by any leader but the system itself creates it when need be. The following is an example of how the system creates a 24-hour economy by itself.

In a reputable international corporate law firm that has clients and offices in many different countries, some of its lawyers are bound to work at various times throughout the day and night to enable them render needed services to their clients. This is because of the world time zones. When it is 08:00 (8 a.m.) in Ghana in the British Mean Time (BMT) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) , it is exactly 03:00 (03 a.m.) in New York and 18:00 (6 p.m.) in Sydney in Australia.

When majority of workers have closed from work in one country, say America, majority of workers will be at work in Australia. Therefore, people within the cited corporate law firm must do a shift work to be able to serve their international clientele. In this cited case, it is not the government that created the 24-hour economy here but the nature of the job itself.

Again, a factory with large public and international demand will have to run a shift pattern to cover 24/7 whereas the one without may operate for only 8-16 hours a day, closed on weekends.

In Ghana as we speak, limited 24-hour economy has been in operation in some industries in Tema that was not created by any government or president but the nature of the job itself. Therefore, the 24-hour economy espoused and put forward as a policy by Mr John Mahama is neither here nor there. He cannot create any 24-hour economy as an engine for job creation to absorb all the unemployed in Ghana. His policy is a farce!

Was it not Mr Mahama who reassured the illegal small-scale miners of his support; resource them to expand their activities if they voted him to power in election 2020? Was he not the same person who has promised to exercise his presidential pardon to free the imprisoned illegal small-scale miners if he wins election 2024?

Therefore, how can he hypocritically accuse Dr Bawumia and NPP of failing to stop the devastating illegal mining hence Ghanaians should vote them out to bring him in?

The NPP and Dr Bawumia can possibly break the 8 by dint of hard work. They should send out the NPP faithful to all corners of the country; villages, cocoa farms where the farmers and their families live, towns and cities, doing effective house to house and door to door campaign.

They must be armed with the audiovisual contradictory messages by Mr John Dramani Mahama and the good tidings from Dr Bawumia and NPP. Let them upload such messages on their laptops and mobile phones to show to their audience. Tell them the policies and programmes intended for the nation by Dr Bawumia.

NPP guys doing door to door campaign must wisely use the free Senior High School education as their trump card. Get those people you contact for their votes involved in your conversations by using analogies to get them fully participate in your conversations to end up persuading them to vote for Dr Bawumia and NPP.

Can anyone become a medical doctor, nurse, president of Ghana, member of parliament, etc. without having a level of formal education? Will they not be happy to see their children, grandchildren or members of their family become say, engineers, directors of companies, members of parliament, etc. Ask them questions like these.

Once they give you answers, then ask if one can reach that position without acquiring formal education? Surely, they will answer no.

He who gives your children free education and he who plans to restrict your children from acquiring free education, which one of them will you prefer?

Tell them how Mr Mahama plans to reset, review, or cancel the free education your children are enjoying. Remind them that Mr Mahama is himself a product of free education Dr Kwame Nkrumah gave to the northerners that enabled him to finally become the president of Ghana and is still aspiring to stage a comeback to the presidency.

Finally, NPP leaders and members must persuade those intending to vote for Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng not to do so as it will be wasted votes because Alan cannot win the election. By voting for Alan, they will be reducing the votes for Dr Bawumia by indirectly increasing the votes for Mr Mahama.

If we could, let us persuade Mr Alan Kyeremateng to step down and direct his supporters to vote Dr Bawumia. Go to terms with him as every single vote counts in this neck and neck election. Again, let us try to persuade the disillusioned supporters of Kennedy Agyapong (Hon.) to join the campaign for Dr Bawumia and NPP.

If we can do as put forward by the son of Kumawu/Asiampa soil, Dr Bawumia will win the election by the grace of God and in defiance of any negative prophecies or predictions against him.

More to come.

Rockson Adofo